Lottery Plays Role in Claremont School Race

When the California lottery was proposed last year as a way to help finance education, the Claremont School Board was indignant, expressing its moral opposition in no uncertain terms: “The funding of the public schools should not be dependent upon the propensity of citizens to gamble,” the board said in a unanimous resolution.

But a little more than a year later, hard times had forced board members to reconsider. With the district nearly broke, the board passed another resolution, this time demanding that school districts be given complete control over how the lottery money earmarked for education was to be spent.

And last month, the school board did some gambling of its own. Without knowing precisely how or when the lottery money was to be divided among school districts, the board decided to spend some of it. It included $295,000 from the lottery in this year’s budget, a figure based on a year-old estimate from the governor’s office.

Claremont’s decision to spend money the board does not yet have has focused attention on the district’s fiscal problems and provided a key issue in this year’s school board race.

Pomona Schools Better Off

Although close to Claremont geographically, the Pomona district is worlds apart in terms of needs and philosophy.

The five-member school board chose not to include expected lottery funds in its budget, which, because enrollment is increasing, is healthy enough to allow new programs this year. Instead of looking for places to cut, Pomona is looking for room to expand.

The two most significant issues in this year’s campaign for three seats, according to the Pomona candidates, are school overcrowding and political divisiveness on the school board.

Six Claremont candidates, including two incumbents, are running for two four-year terms. Two other candidates are vying to finish the two years remaining in the term of a board member who moved from the district last spring.

Candidate Backgrounds

The incumbents are J. Michael Fay, a financial planner, and Larry Birch, an administrator at California Lutheran College. Challenging them are Kenneth Clavon, a distributor for a candy manufacturer; Judith Cody, a community activist and volunteer; Ed Keith, a data processor for Citrus College, and Susan Keith, director of media relations at Claremont Graduate School.

Running to fill the unexpired term are Jack E. Venderley, a private music instructor who teaches government at community colleges on a contract basis, and Lissa Petersen, a part-time instructor at Claremont Graduate School.

Many of the Claremont candidates characterized the budgeting of lottery funds by the district as a desperation measure. But state education officials say the board probably has made a safe bet. The sum is based on a per-pupil estimate of lottery allotments issued by the governor’s financial office last year, causing a number of districts to budget the funds in advance.

Robert L. Harris, the state Finance Department budget manager who made the estimate--$55 per student--said he was sure school districts would receive some money but that he could not say whether the estimate is still on target. He He said the estimate was based on routine guesswork last year involving uncertain state revenues and expenses.

1984 Estimates Doubtful

“I’m not sure why they did that,” he said of districts that budgeted lottery money. He added that the lottery’s late start and its unexpected success probably mean that estimates made in 1984 are no longer valid.

Still, without the extra $295,000, Claremont board members say, the district would have been forced to make substantial cuts in an already lean budget. As it was, the board approved larger class sizes and a shorter school day to save money.

Nevertheless, some candidates point to the district’s meager $2,400 reserve in a $17-million budget as the telltale sign of a desperate situation.

“We’re in a bad state of affairs when we have to encourage parents to go out and gamble in order to support public schools,” said Fay, who is seeking a second term.

As Birch, the other incumbent, sees it, there are three basic causes behind Claremont’s financial problems: soaring expenses; declining enrollment, resulting in less state support, and the fallout from Proposition 13, which stopped school districts from imposing special levies for education.

Once a Big Spender

Proposition 13, Birch said, destroyed community support for schools, forcing districts to accept what the state offered instead of appealing directly to taxpayers. Without the ability to tax the high-income residents of Claremont, he said, the district, once one of the top 10% in spending in the state, has had to get by on steadily dwindling allotments.

Rising liability insurance rates, salaries and other expenses, he said, have also become an increasing drain on district funds.

“This is a pivotal year,” Birch said.

All six candidates said the financial future of the system is the hottest issue in the campaign, and most proposed solutions that involve trying to persuade legislators that schools need more money. Many spoke of gathering support for a statewide voter initiative urging the Legislature to increase school funding.

Susan Keith said there is great potential for grass-roots support for such an initiative because many school districts are in similar situations.

Cites Decline in Morale

Keith, who said it was the district’s financial squeeze that led her to make her first election bid, said lack of funds has a direct bearing on the morale of faculty, administrators and students, which she and other candidates said is low.

“In the spring, the teachers chose to go on strike,” Keith said, referring to a symbolic one-day strike during teacher negotiations in May. At the time, teachers said they took the action because of low pay and what they regarded as insensitivity to their needs on the part of the administration. “The teachers felt they haven’t been communicated to,” Keith said. “A lot of people don’t feel they’re getting a piece of the pie.”

Clavon, another first-time candidate, mentioned the district’s finances and morale as significant issues in the campaign. He said his educational background, which includes training in labor relations, prompted him to seek election.

“I’m upset with the lack of good labor relations within the school district here, which resulted in extremely low morale,” Clavon said, referring to the teacher strike last May. “I felt my particular skills would go a long way toward relaxing hostility.”

Relieve Teacher Burdens

Clavon said the school administration must relieve some of the burdens placed on teachers, such as larger classes, in order to improve morale.

Ed Keith, not related to Susan Keith, said careful planning is the key to solving the district’s budget problems. “The needs of the district have to drive the budget, not the other way around,” he said. He added that the board’s decision to spend most of the district’s reserves to maintain programs was an example of poor fiscal management. Keith, a data processing teacher at Citrus College, said his expertise in budget matters would help the board spend more carefully.

Cody, also a first-time challenger, said that either a voter initiative or intensive lobbying for special legislation is needed to increase school funding and, thereby, the quality of education in schools throughout the state.

Claims Lobbying Skill

Cody, who served on a school board in Illinois before moving to Claremont, said she has handled financial problems and is adept at lobbying.

Fay predicted further curriculum cutbacks and said there may be a need to use computers in teaching basics as class sizes increase.

The computerized classroom is exactly what Venderley would like to avoid. Venderley is running for the unexpired term of Helen Hutchison, who moved to Oregon last spring with two years remaining in her term. Marilee Scaff was appointed as a replacement but cannot under terms of her appointment run for election.

Calling himself the “parents’ candidate,” Venderley said he hopes to improve communication between parents and teachers.

Venderley opposes the district’s cuts in the music program and what he perceives as a trend toward televised and computerized instruction. “School districts are sliding backward in curricular offerings because of a shift toward televised instruction,” Venderley said.

‘Communication Broken Down’

Petersen, Venderley’s only opponent, agrees that some basic instructional programs, especially English and writing, seem to be lacking in Claremont. Petersen said that although a voter initiative is a good idea, she believes there are other solutions to the fiscal problems of school districts.

Petersen also would like to make faculty members and the administration more accountable to the public and to one another. “Communication is broken down in the district,” she said. She suggested holding rotating public sessions with board members at district schools.